Topic: The curse of Brand Loyalty

[please let me in, please]

One statement can fit my gameing view. " I am a Nintendo fanboy, and proud of it." Thats about it. I The first system i ever owned was a super nintendo, followed by the N64. I loved all the games for both, and never took the time to look in the direction of any other console. Next i picked up the gamecube, and loved it. I played it constantly every second of every day. Soon the games became less and less, and i rarely play it now. Then the DS came, and my fanboyish actions acted up again. I have looked at the PS2 and Xbox though, considering my brother just bought a PS2. I still stick to Nintendo through all of it. Nintendo is cheaper, I like their games better, and more of my friends have Nintendo products. PS2 is okay, but i dont like the feel of the controller, along with its high priced games. Xbox is the same way. The controller is huge, and makes my hands very sweaty. So through all the gamecube bashing thats been going on for a while now,  I will always remain a nintendo fanboy. ( The main reason being the awesome ds, and Wii.)

[BigJim]

Since I've owned every Nintendo console, I guess was a fanboy? I dunno. I mean, after a while it was just habitual. I've never been an "everything else sucks" type, even as a kid. I just preferred Nintendo's stuff and never put down anybody else's.

Even when I first went online (1989, long before there was a "web" and my 286 computer had a hardcore 12MHz CPU and 1 MB of RAM) I found myself being a right-fighter. i.e. When someone says something wrong I jumped in. Even still today on this forum, when the "Nintendo-love-everything-they-do-is-right" air gets too thick, I've also jumped in sometimes to bring it back down to earth (as I saw it).

The GameCube ended up being a bitter pill, so I can't say I'm as much of a fanboy today as I was up until GameCube's launch. I can get Wii for the Nintendo games I like, but will turn to 360 and PC for everything else. Unless of course Wii surpasses my expectations and really does provide everything I want.

So, maybe I am a former fanboy.

[rossi46]

The point I was trying to make in my original post, was that, back in the day, I was way beyond simply being a fanboy. I was a zealot. I would dismiss everything out of hand, without even giving it a chance. If you cut my hand off at the wrist you could probably have read 'SEGA' in my stump like lettered-candy.

Now, years later, I'm a tad wiser (hopefully) and have realised that it's thegames that are important, not the machine. I regularly look back in shame at how I used to get all evengelical about my chosen platform - be it Atari, Sega or whatever. On a daily basis I play PSP at work, my NGPC and Gamecube at home and other stuff when I get the chance. Hell, I even buy multi-format magzines. It makes me a little sad and embarrased to read threads on forums knocking other manufacurers. Let's face it - gamers get a hard enough time from the general media without fighting amongst ourselves.
Having said that, though, theres still a tiny piece of me that's never quite forgiven Sony for the Saturn massacre.....(joke)  

[Spak-Spang]

Rossi:  I don't think those days are gone.  We are just older.  Go talk to kids in Elementary School and Junior High, and they will have their favorite...even if they have two systems.

Another difference is the fact that there is now a market of three systems instead of two.  It was easier to choose one side to love.  Now a days it is easier just to choose a side to hate.  

But we all want the product we have bought to succeed.  Just now that we are older, we realize it is just a product and not truly a way of life.  As children we didn't understand that.  Just like with other things we become overly infactuated with.  

[couchmonkey]

I was really loyal to Nintendo as a kid because there was no way I could afford anything else.  I think it's a mental coping tactic to convince yourself that your system has the best product.  If it's not, then you're going to feel disappointed.

The cost of owning multiple consoles is still high, but if you're a bargain hunter it doesn't have to be.  Wii360 seems like an expensive proposition, but for the same price as a 360, you could get a PS2, an Xbox and some games and accessories.  That's what I would do if I were going to buy other consoles: get them near the end of the generation, and not worry too much about multiple controllers and such.  Nintendo is my main console, the others would be just to experience the games I was missing out on.

Still, in the end, even old consoles are kind of expensive these days, and there are more than enough games to keep me entertained on GameCube, so I have yet to buy anything else.

[JonLeung]

I see nothing wrong with liking something if you can depend on it to provide you with what you expect.  I've always expected a good time with Nintendo games and most of the time they come through.  I do play non-Nintendo games given the opportunity, but Nintendo comes first in my mind when it comes to fun.  And there should be nothing wrong with that.

I believe Nintendo fans like Nintendo games because of the values Nintendo tries to stand for - solid gameplay, good controls, high quality, family-friendly fun, etc.  Many of the so-called PlayStation and Xbox fans seem to like them because they're sold on the idea that those are the best.  When asked to defend their position they simply say "just because".  Or something like "the PS2 has the most games" when there's no possible way they could've played most of them themselves.  Or just because they never really bothered to look at the GameCube library.  It's a whole marketing thing.  It's almost amazing that Nintendo still has a lot of fans when their marketing budget is usually less.  That's saying something about their games all right.

I don't like how Nintendo fanboys are often made out to be more dronish and radical.  If you ask me, it's a lot less ridiculous to like Nintendo because you like their games than to like Sony/Microsoft because they paid a lot of money to get you to notice them.

[oohhboy]

I have a friend who brought a Xbox 360 awhile ago. I asked him why did he buy it for. He said games. He has Perfect dark and Ghost Recon.

It currently sits in his bedroom as a glorified DVD player. He is back on his more than decent PC playing WOW more than ever.

Idiot. Yeah I did call him that. Multiple times.

[JonLeung]

Anyone who has a decent computer doesn't need an Xbox/Xbox 360.

With the possible exceptions of the Tecmo and Rare games, every hyped Xbox game has been or will be available for the PC.  Even Halo and Halo 2.

We have to be loyal to, or at least buy Nintendo products, if we want to play Nintendo's games.

Though I did see some weird (yet official) Pokémon game for the PC a short while ago.  Didn't look that great, though...

[couchmonkey]

Rare, Tecmo and Sega are all I really care about on Xbox/360.  The games that are likely to go to PC aren't interesting to me anyway.

The non-Nintendo guy I know is in it for graphics.  Nintendo didn't emphasize them enough on the GameCube for his tastes.  He also just doesn't seem to be aware of Nintendo's better games.  I think that's the case for a lot of people: they know Mario and that's about it.  This guy was a big fan of Zelda and Metroid back in the day, but I don't think he ever played the Wind Waker or Metroid Prime.  

[Mario]

Quote
Originally posted by: rossi46
None of the next-gen offerings are making me excited enough to part with my cash. Right now I have no plans to buy any of them. I'm a huge fan of racing games, which is why I bought a PSP, so when I eventually do buy a new console, I'll go with the one that can fill my racing game needs.

Three words. BIG DAMN TRUCKS!

[Disco_Pimp]

What's up, Rossi?

 

[rossi46]

Quote
Originally posted by: Disco_Pimp
What's up, Rossi?

Cat got my tongue.....

Choosing one system and sticking with it is not a bad thing. IMO, sticking with one system and verbally ripping to shreds anyone who disagrees with you is a bad thing. I know because I was that zealot. I look back with shame these days. In my original post I was asking if people still do that in 2006. I've spent the last few years buiding up a massive retro collection, I only recently got a 'modern' Gamecube.

[Kairon]

I just watched The Remains of the Day, and it occurs to me that, in a way, loyalists, of which I still count myself as, are all butlers serving masters we want to believe in and whom we trust aren't flawed more than we are ourselves.

It is a very dangerous tightrope we walk, those of us who believe so much in goodness that we are willing to give our loyalties and hearts to the mere potential of it. Yet even so, I cannot let go of it. There is something in me that, for all of my self-image and self-confidence and elementary school "leadership" training, wants to find something larger to which I can devote myself to.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Renny]

Have you considered Scientology?

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: Renny
Have you considered Scientology?

Actually, I've considered devoting my entire being and life-savings to YTMND.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[SixthAngel]

Brand Loyalty isn't always this brainwashing leadership you make it out to be.  There is both good and bad brand loyalty.  Bad would be when person has to feel they need to bring other products down in order for their choice to be superior.  They have not tried other companies products and want them to fail just because they do not own them.  Even if another product seems interesting it could never be good enough for a purchase.

Brand loyalty can be very good for a consumer and company as well though.  While the gamecube is only my second Nintendo system (first was the nes) I have played most of the N64 games (I want a new Blast Corp!!!) and many snes games.  When a company consistently delivers the goods for so many years I would willing to trust that they will deliver them again and buy the Wii almost solely on faith.  This rewards consumers for following a good company and rewards the company for consistent quality.  This is not blind faith, the xbox is not a brand that should inspire this kind of loyalty because they simply have not proven that they can continue with only one generation of games under their belt.

I would consider the good brand loyalty a more mature kind of loyalty and it is far harder to gain then the first type of brand loyalty I mentioned.

[rossi46]

Quote
Originally posted by: SixthAngel
Brand Loyalty isn't always this brainwashing leadership you make it out to be.  There is both good and bad brand loyalty.  Bad would be when person has to feel they need to bring other products down in order for their choice to be superior.  They have not tried other companies products and want them to fail just because they do not own them.  Even if another product seems interesting it could never be good enough for a purchase.

Hooray.

You get there in the end, eh? That's what I'm talking about. That was me in the Sega years. Master System, Mega Drive (Genesis) *cough*Mega CD, Saturn (still my favourite) and Dreamcast. Everything else was shite, IMblinkeredO. The PS2 had all the best games, but the thought of playing it gave me the same feelings as when you poke your finger through the toilet paper when wiping your ass. It's all time wasted and lost that can never be gotten back.

[Syl]

I was a nintendo only guy for a while, then i realized that i was missing out on too many games.

I'm actually more of a PC gamer now.  I love my cube (over 60 games), I love my PS2 (over 40 games) and i love my computer (infinite games).  

I still love nintendo the most, it's the reason i got a tattoo of a nintendo icon over anything else - but you miss out on a ton of stuff by simply standing by a single system.  I know that i'll be buying an xbox360 before the end of next year for a lot of stuff that is coming out for it, and i also know that early 2007 i'll be shoving 2 grand into another computer system.  I don't mind this at all, i do what i need to play the games that are deserving.

(Of course, i'm getting a Wii at launch)